JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Under Lock, Under Key
by oddalice
Summary: In a prison filled with murderers and psychopaths, Jolyne Kujo is far from helpless. But everything changes when a mysterious visitor comes to aid her. A man she never expected to see again.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. It is the property of Hirohiko Araki, David Productions, Viz Media, etc. Please support the official release

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Under Lock, Under Key

It was a cold, empty night in cell 206. Aside from Guess' irritating snores, the woman's quarter in the Green Dolphin Street Prison was oddly quiet. No yelling, no footsteps, nothing. It was enough to make any harden criminal feel miserable. But Prisoner FE40536 was not one to let grief overwhelm her.

_Prisoner FE40536? Damn, I feel like I'm starting to forget my own name, _she thought as she played with the strings in her hand.

Jolyne Kujo was indeed an unusual prisoner. Although prettier than the average inmate at Green Dolphin Penitentiary, it was clear from her mannerisms and her bold gaze that she was not delicate. She had an aggressive air around her and one of her few prized pocession was the arm tattoo of a dagger concealing butterfly wings. During her gang days, she loved how the dagger seemed to stab at her enemy every time she threw a punch.

It seemed to fit perfectly with her bizarre hairstyle. The bottom layer consisted of black hair tied into two lofty buns with a lighter layer of green tightly braided hair above. To a normal person, her hair resembled towers or to the stupidly brave, "mouse ears"; but Jolyne didn't care.

Close to her neck, there was also a star-shaped birthmark...

_Damn, I'm so bored. Maybe I could..._she shook her head, trying to rid herself of dirty thoughts. She would never live it down if another guard walked in on her while she was doing 'that'. She removed the strings and flipped to her side.

She sighed. _Is it still November? Is it even the same year?_ _Dammit why does time have to move so fast? What am I going to do? I can't spend the next 15 years of my life here. _

She took a quick look around her cell, half expecting to find a miraculous exit out of this prison. _Can I break out? I'm not even sure about all the limits of this new power. As far as I can tell, I can only smash a coin._

She sighed again. The past few weeks of Jolyne Kujo's life had been a living nightmare. Her bail was refused on account of her previous prosecution and that stupid judge raised her original sentence. No one had come to visit her since she moved to the new prison. Not her mother, not her boyfriend...

She had met him a few weeks back at some bar a couple miles out of her hometown. It had been a while since Jolyne had entered a bar. A lot of people recognized her and most of her hang out spots had memories of her old gang attached to it. So Jolyne had to move farther and farther to the uptown area. After all, if she was going to make a fresh start, she had to make sure that she wouldn't run into some idiot who blab away all her old secrets.

That's when she met him.

In her gang days, she had a habit of scaring men away, save for a some tough biker idiots that were only good for few days. Besides, the men in her life always had a habit of walking out on her at some point. So she never put any thought into getting a serious boyfriend. But there he was. He was handsome, clean, and he was going to go some Ivy League school later on next year. His family was wealthy and he even had a cool car with a refrigerator in it too. He kept trying to impress her with some flashy stories and friends but he seemed like a nice guy. Maybe even marriage material, if things had gone over smoothly.

On October 28th, in Florida around 5 pm on Road 23, Jolyne was riding with her boyfriend Romeo Jisso. She was taking a sip of some beer he had stored away and they were talking about the next step in their relationship: pet names.

Most people thought "Jojo" was a weird and unappealing name; even Romeo laughed at the idea. But all her life, Jolyne knew "Jojo" was special. There was a look in her mother's eyes whenever she used that nickname. There was a look in all her relatives when that name was used. "Jojo" had a sense of reverance to it, like the name of a treasured old friend.

She knew that if Romeo was ever going to be a serious boyfriend, he had to use that nickname on her. So she ignored him when he said that he wanted a sip of her drink even though he was driving. So she lied to him when he asked if she used to be in a hell rider gang. So she lied to him when he asked about her tattoo. All she wanted was to hear him say 'Jojo". Perhaps, that's why she didn't see the pedestrian until it was too late.

The man was already lodged in a tree when Jolyne reached inside her purse to call for the ambulance.

The impact was pretty fierce but if there was a chance the man was still alive, Jolyne wanted to-. But Romeo stopped her. He was scared, on the verge of crying. He came up with some excuse about how their future would be ruined if Jolyne called the police. He started making promises about how everything would be okay if she just kept quiet. If she just kept quiet, she could continue this normal life. Against her better judgment, she agreed to dispose of the body.

_That ball-less bastard! How could he do this to me? To his girlfriend? What was all that shit he said? Don't let a car accident ruin our future? In the end, he just abandoned me and saved himself- F #king-bastard!_

The next few days were deeply uncomfortable for Jolyne. The accident weighed heavily on her mind. She had seen a lot of broken people in her life, laying on the side of the road, grasping for air as hell riders beat the ever-living shit out of them. She hated going to those gatherings, that's why she left the gang and decided to go straight. But she had never seen a dead man before. She ran through the scenarios in her mind: what would happen if she told the police, what if she didn't, what if she pleaded on Romeo's behalf-?

On November 2, the police barged into her house with a warrant for her arrest. They pushed her against the wall as her mother walked into the room. Jolyne could never forget the confusion, the humiliation, or the tears in her mom's eyes as she tried to reason with the police.

She thought back to her pointy eared lawyer, some big shot that she assumed her mom hired. He told her that if she would freely admit to her crimes, her punishment would be reduced.

She was hesitant: after all, why should she be punished for something she didn't even do? But then she thought about Romeo. She couldn't put the blame on him; it wasn't in her nature to betray the people she loved. So she took the lawyer's offer and pleaded guilty.

However, the judge revealed some startling news: the victim did not die on impact. He didn't die until after he was put in the swamp. Therefore, in the judge's eyes, Jolyne harmed the victim and her sentence was increased exponentially.

_That damn crook! _she thought as she slammed her fist into the pillow. _He lied to me! He set me up! I hope he's rotting in a ditch somewhere!_

_The amulet_...

When her good-for-nothing father divorced her mother, he told her to give Jolyne this weird amulet with a rock inside. Ignorant of its powers, Jolyne had cut her finger on the rock and threw the amulet away. However, on her way to the Green Dolphin Prison, the skin from the cut started to grotesquely unravel.

It was string! Her whole hand was full of string! No blood, no flesh, just string.

The strings were surprisingly sturdy even though they felt like silk and could travel pretty far but the guards could not see or hear them. Although she was initially terrified of this power, her instincts calmed her down. It was as though Jolyne had known this power her whole life, a power buried deep inside her passed down from generations of her bloodline. The fate of the blood inside her meant that Jolyne was blessed with both a burning passion and the ability to conquer her fears.

However, she could already sense that there was a sinister side to her power: one that would require sacrifice and would force her into a bizarre spiral of conflict. Nevertheless, a dark will began to consume Jolyne and it was that dark willpower that allowed her to use her string to hijack an armored car and help a woman named Hermes Costello from some crooked guards.

Later on, she found that this power had a face. It was shaped like a woman and it had a build similar to Jolyne but it bluish-green skin and it was covered in bumps from the waist down. It looked like sunglasses obstructed its eyes and some protrusions ran over its head from the jaw to the back of its neck. She tested it and saw that it was capable of punching at extreme speeds and strengths. It needed a name.

_Stone Free. It's going to get me out of this ocean full of stone, so it needs to be Stone Free. _

_Crap, I need to find that rock now. If I don't, more idiots like Guess will use it. _

Surely this was no coincidence. Her father must have known that the stone in the amulet would give Jolyne strange powers. It was also very likely that her father, Jotaro Kujo himself must have similar strange powers.

_Why now? Why does he choose to act like a father now? He had years to tell me this kind of stuff so why does he wait until I'm in prison? Good-for-nothing. Why are all the men in my life good-for-nothings?_

She thought back to when she was a kid. When she was six, she had a deadly fever and was sent to the hospital in critical condition. Although she was entering in and out of conscious at the time, she still had hazy memories of the event. The doctors injecting her with all kinds of weird liquids and medicines, her mother cried for days all the while begging for her father to come and help her. Although she could not explain it, Jolyne had always felt that her father was capable of achieving miracles and at some point even she was begging for him to come and save her.

_But he still didn't come..._

That amulet was still out there though and Jolyne was going to have to find it eventually, but she didn't feel like dealing with annoying issues at the moment.

Suddenly, she heard a loud *_thump_*. It echoed through the hall and rang as it bounced over and over agian. She shot up.

_T-That can't be what I think it is? That sounded like a ball just now_. Jolyne winced as a small baseball rolled passed the bars of her cell. A small shadowy figure creeped behind the ball. She could not make out his face but it looked like a boy with a baseball glove and hat. Suddenly, Jolyne thought back to the afternoon. She had seen this kid before; it was after she had put that blackmailing bitch in her place. He didn't say anything then but it seemed he was seeking her out.

The tips of her fingers tingled. If this boy was hostile, Jolyne needed to get her strings ready for a fight. But the boy brought his finger up to his lips and whispered, "I'm your friend Jolyne. Tomorrow afternoon, there's someone coming to visit you but you must not meet him. Understand?"

Jolyne pulled back. _Who the hell is this kid? Does he have a power like me?_

The boy continued "Jolyne, if you meet him many bad things will happen. Things worse than death and not just to you."

As Jolyne opened her mouth, a million questions raced through her mind but before she could speak the boy bounced the ball away and disappeared as quickly as he arrived.

*The next day*

Noon was a dangerous hour at the prison mess hall. Rowdy, hungry prisoners lined up against the wall, desperate to get a meal before the kitchen ran out of scraps. Fights were breaking out near the tables and the guards were extra brutal today. Jolyne had barely managed to find a seat and was just about to eat when a guard walked up to her.

"Prisoner FE40536? You have a visitor"

"A visitor?" Her eyes widened. _That kid was right! But what should I do? Should I go?_

"Prisoner FE40536," the guard repeated, gruffly. "Get off your ass! You have a visitor"

"O-okay," she whispered, feigning meekness.

"Okay?" replied the guard, indignant. He brought his riot stick out and smashed it on her fingers. "Is that how you talk to a guard? Like I'm your friend!?"

"Okay, sir" She rubbed her fingers and tried to hide her glare. _Bastard! I'll make you pay later_

As they walked down the hall, Jolyne tried to analyze the situation at hand. _Who would visit me? Mom? How did she manage to get in? Why would that kid tell me to avoid my mom? Wait, what if it's not mom? Romeo? There's no way in hell he would show his face. What if-?_

The guard stopped and barked out some orders about standing behind a white line, which Jolyne half-heartedly obeyed. He went inside to talk to the other guard, leaving her alone.

All of a sudden, Jolyne felt a small hand grab her wrist. She turned back and saw that the boy was hiding in a trashcan.

"Big sis, don't do this! Don't go inside. If you do, you'll be killed."

She shivered. She was no stranger to risks but if her mother was somehow involved in all this..

"I have to. What if it's my mom inside there? If what you're saying is true, she might be in danger."

The boy bowed his head, dejected at Jolyne's decision. Nevertheless, he would not let go of Jolyne's hand and with his free hand, he slipped something to her.

"Keep this Jolyne. Treasure it like you would your own mother. It's your key for getting out of here alive."

Jolyne nodded. From the texture, it felt like he had provided her with some kind of rock. The surface was smooth but uneven in certain locations, almost like it was the subject of some corrosive experiment.

"Prisoner FE40536!" snapped the guard. This brought Jolyne back to her senses. She quickly looked behind her but the boy was already gone.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?"

"N-Nothing," she said, the guard flashing her a dirty look, "Sir!"

From the exposed doorway of the visitor's room, Jolyne could see the silhouette of a man. A tall, brawny man, bigger than any man she had seen...

_No- It can't be! He couldn't be here!_

As Jolyne walked in, the man turned around.

It was not the person Jolyne had expected.

Not at all.


	2. Chapter 2

"U-Uncle Josuke?" she asked, stunned. The tall, powerfully built man with the outdated pompadour smiled and hugged her.

"Oh come on Jolyne. You're an adult now. Just call me Josuke." A strange sense of nostalgia overwhelmed her. Her uncle hadn't changed.

When Jolyne was eight, her uncle had traveled from Japan to 'learn the family business', what that was; she wasn't entirely sure. He was actually a police officer in Japan. She heard some rumor that her great-grandfather was some of realty king in New York but it seemed strange that a man who looked like her father's younger brother was the heir to something like that. Despite that, she loved Josuke very much.

During his stay in the States, he came down to Florida to visit Jolyne and her mom for a few months. Even though her father, Jotaro, was never around (or maybe it was because Jotaro was never around) Josuke took a special interest in Jolyne. So for a while, he offered to babysit much to Jolyne's delight. He was such an easy man to talk to, especially when she used to tease him about his hair. It was hard to explain, but there was just something extraordinary about her uncle. Every time she broke a toy or put a dent in something, he always had to ability to fix it. In a way, it reminded her of her father...

As the years passed, Josuke would still come over to visit but those trips became less and less frequent as she got older. His last trip was at least three years ago, when she was still in the gang. He got so mad at her. For the first time in years, Jolyne felt like she was letting someone outside of her mom down again. It was an awful feeling but it didn't make her quit. But it might have been the reason her uncle stopped visiting.

"Jolyne," he said somberly, "I'm sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances."

"It's okay, Uncle" she said, trying to bite back her emotions. The annoyed guard threw dirty looks at them, but she ignored him. Josuke loosened his hug on her.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm surviving," she said flatly. He leaned his head towards her ear.

"Did you get that amulet Jotaro left for you?" he whispered.

"Yes"

A ridiculous grin slide on Josuke's face.

"Great!"

Then he pulled away and punched the guard in the face.

The guard staggered for a few seconds before falling to the ground, unconscious and his mouth agape. For a split second it looked like his teeth were falling off, only for them to reattach to the mouth.

"Josuke!" she gasped. It wasn't her uncle's crazy actions that surprised her as much as the ghost she saw next to him. Behind her uncle was a muscular spirit, with a pink body and white armor. She could feel it staring right at her. It had a different appearance but it was similar to the green spirit that followed her.

"You have a stand, right?" he asked suddenly.

"A-A stand?"

"Jolyne, I'm busting you out of here," he said unleashing his ridiculous corny smile. "Don't worry about breaking any laws. We've got a plan all set for you. But first, I've got to rough this guy up just a little more."

For some reason this information didn't surprise her. So much made sense now. If her father had sent her the stone, he must have known about these so-called 'stand' powers. Maybe he had one of his own. Maybe everyone in her family had one. Maybe everyone, except for her. A bad taste was working its way up her mouth.

"Did he send you?" she asked coldly as she sat down by the table.

"What?" asked Josuke, genuinely confused.

"My father. Did he send you instead of coming here himself?"

"No Jolyne," he said, with a stern look in his eye. He sighed and walked over. "Look. I know what it's like to not see your dad and then have him waltz into your life one day. There's a lot of anger there and it builds up to the point where you get too mad at him to listen. I know. But that's not going to get you anywhere. Not here. No one forced me. I came because I wanted to."

Jolyne looked away, annoyed that her uncle was trying to take the place of her worthless father.

"Besides, I figured you'd have an easier time listening to an uncle instead." His goofy grin returned and she sighed.

"And there's another reason," Josuke pulled out a picture from his jacket and placed it on the table. Jolyne looked over it. It was a brawny man with weird spiral facial markings and long, unkempt hair. For some reason, his eyes had a clear coloring to them, almost as if he was blind.

"Who's that?" she asked, trying her best to seem uninterested.

"His name is Jongalli A." Jolyne stared, bewildered while Josuke shrugged and said, "Yeah I know. Weird name.

"Based on his records, he's an ex-solider with bad cataracts that decreases his sight. He had a reputation as an assassin and he's currently inside the men's section of this facility. Jolyne, has your dad told you about a man named DIO?"

"No," she replied after regaining her composure, "my dad barely ever talked about his friends. He barely talked to me at all"

"Really?" Josuke was dumbfounded. "Nothing? He didn't tell you anything about Stands or Vampires or the Arrows...? How did he expect you to survive if he never told you anything!?" he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He took a quick glance outside the cell window and turned his attention back to her.

"Okay Jolyne, I'll explain everything to you later. Right now, all you have to know is that DIO is bad and he had a lot of flunkies who really hate your dad. They framed you and threw you in here to draw out Jotaro."

"W-Wait a minute! I was framed?" she could feel her irritation growing as she rush up from her chair, knocking it over.

"Oops, almost forgot," he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah Jongalli A framed you. He ordered a gangster to dump an innocent man on the streets so that you and your boyfriend would hit him. Then he hired a talented lawyer to increase your sentence and end the investigation."

Jolyne was speechless. Revenge was the first thing she wanted once she escaped prison. She had already made a few plans to get revenge on her old boyfriend, but it never occurred to her that someone else might have caused all this. Not that it was going to stop her from getting back at Romeo but it was still baffling to think that he was kind of innocent too.

"That sounds really unbelievable." she said weakly. Lately it seemed like everyone was conspiring against her, punishing her for something she didn't deserve. It was starting to wear her down.

"I know, but bare with me," said Josuke, trying his best to sympathize. "This guy was probably waiting for the chance of you getting a visitor. He's probably expecting your father, so he could show up now at anytime. We need the amulet that Jotaro left you. It looks normal on the surface but there's a communicator inside. It's already set up and the submarine will automatically move towards the predestinated location."

"Um..." Jolyne bit her lip, nervously. "Josuke. I do have the amulet but it's not on me." The room fell silent. Josuke took another quick glance out the cell window and then pounded his head against the door.

"My god, Jotaro really didn't explain anything to you. Great. Look. Head to back to your room and get the amulet and meet me near the location. Don't worry about how I'll get there." She nodded. Given everything that's happened, she and Josuke needed to escape as quickly as possible.

"Okay. I'll trust you Josuke."

He continued to look out the window, signaling to her that the coast was clear. As she got up from the table and walked towards the steel door, the smoke from the cigarette caught her eye.

"Hey Josuke. This is probably a random question but do you smoke?"

"No," he answered, a bit confused as he moved away from the door. "I thought those were the guard's-" He stopped as a sudden realization hit him "Jolyne! Get down!"

It all happened in an instant. Jolyne flew back and hit the floor while Josuke rushed over to her.

She instinctively ran her fingers to the wound to stop the bleeding. For some reason, she could feel the pain but her chest didn't feel wet. Josuke appeared to be equally surprised. Instead of a bleeding wound, there appeared to be a collection of string, woven into a thick, sturdy structure, almost like a bullet-proof vest. The crushed bullet rolled off and her body shield disentangled as quickly as it had appeared.

_So this is Jolyne's stand, _Josuke thought as he helped her up._ She can make something this complex appear in an instant. But this is no time to admire her good instincts._

"Get your stand ready Jolyne! We're going to get a real fight soon"

"Damn," she said, gasping for air, "you weren't exaggerating." She struggled to catch her breath. Her attention turned to the cigarette in the ashtray. There was something suspicious about a lit cigarette that belonged to no one; it had to be tied with the stand user somehow.

_This Jongali A guy. Josuke said he was blind. How can he shoot me when he's blind? Even if he could see, he's not standing outside the cell. It'd be like shoot through smoke. Smoke... _

"The cigarette," she gingerly walked over to the table and pinched the butt of the cigarette. "That's how he knows our movement. He's using the smoke."

Josuke was too focused on scanning the hallway to really pay attention but he had a sneaking notion that she was right.

"That rifle made no noise," he said cautiously. "I don't know if we can dodge a second time. Jolyne, we're going to have to break out of here now. We've got to get that amulet." She nodded. "A rifle from the men's ward? It's got to be one of those abilities you were talking about."

_Of all the times to leave that stupid amulet in my cell, it had to be the day when I'm getting shot, _she thought, vexed at the turn of events. Suddenly she remembered the little boy and the weird rock he gave her. She pulled it out her pocket and clutched it tightly.

"Hey, you know what this is?" Josuke turned his head slightly, puzzled by the weird rock she showed him.

"Huh? Looks like someone used acid to melt it." He summoned his stand and smashed the rock. Surprisingly, it didn't break apart but reassembled. Pieces of the rock were coming together to form a new, yet familiar shape.

"It's a bone," he said frankly. Jolyne winced. The bone was too big to belong to a chicken or any kind of normal animal. It had to be...

"A human bone. Female, I think," she said as she passed the bone on to him. Josuke examined the bone for a few seconds. "Uh, Jolyne, it's not that I'm questioning your hobbies but now is not the time to show people bones." He broke it apart and she put the tiny bone away, scoffing. Suddenly, she caught something from the corner of her eye.

"Hey look outside!" Jolyne turned, bewildered with the object outside. It almost looked like a helicopter-no- more like a UFO. There were keys dangling from the bottom as it hovered around, changing direction sporadically. It hit the wall and the UFO fell to the floor. Suddenly, the UFO started to flatten, almost like it was made of paper.

"What is that!?"

"It's a stand. There's no doubt. Don't stick your face out too much Jolyne"

All of a sudden, the UFO assumed its original shape again. Jolyne could feel her heart pounding, anticipating it's next move. The air in the room began to feel really thick and it became harder and harder to breath. The stand hovered slowly off the ground and continued to glide away.

_Now's our chance! _Jolyne shot out some of her strings through the window but the stand dodged it effortlessly.

"Jolyne!? What are you doing?"

"It's air, Josuke. The stand changes according to the air currents, even to the small air currents made by my strings."

His eyes glanced back at the burnt out cigarette as he came to understand the situation.

"Of course. That explains how he could shoot you with the cigarette smoke. But you know what that means, right? It can also dodge our attacks. Unless..." his voice trailed off.

"Unless?"

He examined the walls of the cell while Jolyne kept watch. He knocked on the walls and assertively kicked a few of the pillars until he found a weak spot in a pipe. He forced the support concrete aside and found an opening, large enough for both him and Jolyne to slip through.

"We break out from inside the room," he answered with a goofy grin on his face. Jolyne was reluctant. it seemed too convenient to have an opening this large in a prison full of desperate prisoners.

"Is that an air vent?"

"I don't know but it looks big enough for us to get through. Come on!" Although she was still skeptical, she knew it was their best chance at escape. She held her breath and crawled inside.

After several minutes, Jolyne and Josuke managed to reach the end of the air vent. It was unusually spacious for a prison air vent but Jolyne wasn't going to complain about an easy escape. There was a small drop from the vent to the floor but before they stepped down, Jolyne wanted to look around. Using her strings, she tied the ends to the pipes on the ceiling and slowly lower herself down. This room had a lot of pipes, the type that carried electricity and polluted water. A few of the pipes were emitting steam.

_This must be the power room. How was this underneath us? _Suddenly she heard a familiar buzz.

"Jolyne! It's the stand!" yelled Josuke, surprisingly close to her. Unaware of how close he was, she jolted back into him and knocked him against the corner of the vent.

Josuke winced. His hand slid across the edge of the sharp corner, cutting it the process. Before Jolyne could get a chance to apologize, Jongalli A's stand started shooting. They ducked behind the pipes, trying to stand still and hold their breath.

Suddenly Jolyne heard a voice call out.

"Big sis!"

She looked down. It was the baseball kid from before, waving his arms from behind a pipe. This sudden action caught the stand's attention and it started chasing the boy. However, the boy quickly jumped inside the water of an open pipe valve and swam inside. The stand floated aimlessly, almost as if it was lost.

_ Resourceful little bastard, _she smiled as she realized that the stand could not detect the boy's body under water.

All of a sudden, the pipes began to contort and the shift in pressure caused the pipe bolts to fly off. The stand had somehow managed to break open the pipes!

The boy, paralyzed with fear, watched as the stand moved closer. With a fierce speed, Jolyne jumped down and summoned her strings to create a large net. Her plan was crazy and she didn't think that her net could really stop the Jongalli A's stand; if anything, it was going to shoot her. But she didn't care. If she didn't act now, that boy was dead.

The stand fired but missed Jolyne. Instead, the bullet made impact with a pipe. The pipe exploded behind her and the room filled with steam.

Jongalli A's stand hovered around for a bit, unsure where to travel. Suddenly, a net wrapped around it. Jolyne came out of the steam, completely unharmed.

"Can't see so clearly in steam, huh? I figured the steam from the pipe was easier to spot than I was. Well now it's too late!"

A bolt flew from the steam and through Jongalli A's stand. Jolyne turned to see Josuke's stand and several of the pipe's bolts in his hands.

"Like shooting rats," he smiled.

She smiled back, leaving the broken stand to fall to the ground. But there was still the matter of the boy...

"Who are you, kid? How did you get inside this prison?"

The boy was speechless, probably still in shock. Jolyne climbed down the pipes, hoping that a close encounter would help calm him down.

Suddenly she felt a sharp jab at her side. Something was cutting into her skin, digging deep inside like a knife. She reached inside her pocket and found the bone but somehow, it had melted again.

"What the hell is this?" she asked the boy forcefully. "What's going on here?!"

The boy remained silent. He had an odd look on his face.

"I don't understand," he said, worried. "You can't- You can't lose it..."

It looked like the boy was about to cry. She wanted to comfort him, when suddenly-

"Jolyne, who are you talking to?"

She turned around. Even though there was still a bit of steam in the room, her uncle clearly had good eyes. How could he not see the boy in front of her?

"To this kid."

"What kid?"

"The one here-"She stopped.

He was gone.

"But he was right here! He has to be here!"

She frantically searched the room. It was possible the kid was hiding in a pipe. Suddenly she saw something move from behind one of the pipes. It looked like a bloody man.

"It's him! That guy from the photo!"

"Jolyne! What are you talking about!?"

"I know what I saw! He's still moving!"

She rushed over to the pipe but her uncle stopped her.

"Jolyne, listen to me! There's no one here! There was no kid. There never was a kid. This whole time, you've been talking to air."

"Wha- but-"

She struggled to find words. Nothing made sense anymore. The boy? The man? The secret tunnel? She was starting to get dizzy as the sweat trickled down her neck. _How could Josuke not-?_

She analyzed her uncle, searching top to bottom. Something didn't seem right.

"Josuke... didn't you cut your hand?"

"What are you talking about Jolyne?" he said as he looked down at his hand. Even though she saw him had slice it on metal, it looked perfectly fine.

Her breathing grew more rapid and her vision started to blur. It felt like parts of her body was being to melt- like the whole room was starting to melt. No- it really was melting! Everything and everyone was melting, even Josuke was melting.

_ No... this can't be right! _she thought as she tried to keep her fingers from melting. _First the air vent, then the boy, and now the hand. This...This must be an enemy's stand!_

Jolyne woke up with a jolt. She could feel the bone draw blood as she clenched it against her hand. It was the visitor's room but everything had changed.

The walls were covered in a foul-smelling mucus, drowning the room with its miasma. The table and chairs were falling apart almost like someone was melting them. It was so overwhelming that Jolyne couldn't even lift her head from the table.

Josuke and the prison guard were unconscious, completely unaware of the situation. The guard was sprawled out on the floor, most of his equipment and face had melted away. Josuke was slumped on his chair, with the acid tearing away at his face and hair. She shot out her string to him but it melted in midair, less than a few inches in front of her.

She cursed as she struggled to breathe as the goo enveloped her. She could even feel the goo trying to go inside her mouth.

_Damn, this can't be Jongalli A's real ability. This is someone else. Someone else got into this room so that everyone can experience his stand. He can make people experience illusions and then he melts them. Like a snake..._

Her eyelids felt heavy. She was starting to fall asleep again. She clenched the bone even tighter. By herself, she was going to die...

But the boy gave her an opportunity. A chance to live. She couldn't waste it. She summoned Stone Free and put her plan into motion...

With the last of her strength, Jolyne used Stone Free to break the table and knocked Josuke back. He flew against the wall and slowly opened his eyes.

"What?" he asked, lethargically.

"Good," said Jolyne, struggling to move "I did it. I can move now, as long as my mind is awake. Uncle, break down the door. With Crazy Diamond."

Josuke admired Jolyne's resolve. Right now, he barely had the strength to move his head much less talk as much as she could.

"Hurry up! We're running out of time!"

He summoned his stand and ripped the door open. Unable to move his legs, Josuke gingerly dragged himself to entrance.

"Let's get out of here!" Jolyne uncharacteristically barked. "Pull me along!"

"Wait a minute. Jolyne..." he said, slowly. Jolyne glared, annoyed that he was wasting precious time.

"What!?"

"How did you know my stand's name?"

His serious tone startled Jolyne and she struggled to respond.

"W-What?"

"Crazy Diamond... I never once said my stand's name was Crazy Diamond. How did you know my stand's name?"

She didn't respond. She just gave Josuke a mysterious look, a look that was completely alien to Jolyne. This couldn't be real...

Josuke gasped for air. He could feel something gently choking him and he struggled to rip it off.

They were strings, Jolyne's strings. The room was melting but Jolyne had managed to stay awake despite the poisonous fumes.

"Great. Good thinking, Jolyne._" _She made a subtle movement in agreement.

Josuke struggled to summon his stand but the miasma was too much. Crazy Diamond appeared only to disappeared a few seconds later. He was too weak and groggy to fully control it. At this rate, there was no way they could move across the room before passing out again. Unless...

"Jolyne. I have an idea. Bring out your stand."

"My string doesn't work here," she said weakly.

"No," he gasped, trying to get as much air as possible, "your other stand. The one with the glasses." It required a great deal of effort but Jolyne was finally able to summon Stone Free.

Suddenly, Josuke summoned Crazy Diamond and with all his strength, punched Stone Free. The force of the hit flung Jolyne across the room into the door, forcing it open.

"Sorry. This was the only way to get you out. Now use your string to drag me and the guard out"

"Why did you have to punch me so freakin' hard!?" she yelled, indignant. Her temple throbbed but it was clear that she was back at full energy. "And why do I have rescue the guard!?"

Nevertheless, she summoned her string and wrapped it tightly around Josuke and the guards waists. She briskly pulled them out of the room (although Josuke was convinced that she was intentionally being rough on him) and released them in the hallway. Josuke grasped for air as he struggled to get up, while Jolyne pulled something out her pocket.

"Hey, we got out of there thanks to this bone. Do you think it's some kind of special bone?"

Confused, Josuke examined the strange object.

"Special bone? I don't think those exist Jolyne."

_ So this is the first time Josuke's seen the bone. _Jolyne thought back to the illusion. _It is real. Which means that the boy who gave me this bone must be real too. _

Suddenly, the alarms released a loud roar.

"Attempted escape in Sector 4! Attempted escape in Sector 4!"

Enraged, Jolyne released Stone Free and broke the nearby alarm. Josuke shook his head as he summoned his stand to fix the alarm, which wasn't making any noise now.

"If it's not broken, it might confuse them for a couple of seconds."

"Well, this is still reality," Jolyne said, ducking underneath the nearest security camera. Josuke quickly followed suit, trying his best to adjust his plans to the new situation.

Suddenly a small voice cried out from behind.

"Big sis, big bro."

It was a boy!

"Follow me!" he ordered, pointing down the hall.

"Jolyne. There's a kid here." said Josuke, stunned.

"Don't worry he's on our side," she said, rushing over to the kid.

The guards rushed on to the scene, baffled with the strange breakout. The guard in charge was found unconscious and sent for immediate medical attention. They analyzed the camera footage but it caught no sight of the prisoner. Only a sudden fade to black and return to normal, almost as if the electricity was disconnected and reconnected. The records on which prisoner was scheduled for the visitors' room were mysteriously gone.

Yet unbeknownst to them, the strangest thing connected to the breakout was the mysterious creature behind them.

It slithered from guard to guard, scanning the evidence they had collected and dripping ooze where ever it went. Yet none of the guards noticed; it was like a ghostly ripple, a faint vibration you could feel but very few could see. Perhaps it was better that they could not see. Although it looked human, it had ghastly, white skin and empty white eyes. Much like a snake, it lacked a nose and its movements were animalistic. Upon its head was a black crown, covering the top portion of his head all the way down to his eyes. Aside for a few scraps of black, the humanoid was almost completely naked. Because of that, one could see that there were mysterious carvings in its skin. In a sequence all over its body, the letter G, a triangle, and the letters CT, would repeat. Over and over the pattern would repeat on its skin, yet something about the process felt incomplete.

Suddenly the monster spoke.

"So it seems that Jotaro Kujo didn't come for his daughter after all. This changes things." Something caught his eye. It was the cigarette he had left earlier. The guards completely ignored the minor detail from the room, but no matter. It was easy to dispose of such things. He picked it up, the ooze he excreted covered cigarette. Then it began to melt. In a matter of seconds, the cigarette had vanished completely, converted into an invisible pile of slime.

"If he doesn't respond to his daughter, let's see how he reacts to his missing messenger."


	3. Chapter 3

The two followed him down the halls. There were many twists and turns in this prison; it seemed like a guard could pop up at any minute. But they didn't run into a single person the whole while. This kid must know this place like the back of his hand.

However, as they went down a flight of stairs, the boy suddenly disappeared. Josuke looked underneath the stairs to see if he had jumped down while Jolyne searched the walls to see if he had some hidden door. Suddenly, his hand popped from the wall corner and grabbed Jolyne.

"Wha-?" she gasped. She could see the hand clearly but she was baffled as to where the rest of the body was hidden. When she looked closer however, she was able to make out a strange image. It looked like the hand was coming out of the distorted image of some kind of room, yet the image was flattened to the shape of a picture. All of sudden, a great force propelled Jolyne forward and off her feet. She fell face first into the strange room.

As she got up, she examined her surroundings. It was surprisingly classy, like the lobby of an upscale hotel. There was a black grand piano that glistened with the beautiful lighting. A computer laid on top of the table with some magazines and a carton of orange juice. The walls were covered with posters of famous movies, some of which Jolyne recognized but didn't have time to think about. There were shelves and shelves of books, as if there was actually someone was crazy enough to start a personal library inside a prison. She heard a loud thump behind her and realized that Josuke must now be inside the strange room too.

There were two people next to the grand piano. The first was a colossal, dark-skinned man with an intimidating atmosphere around him. The air around him seemed thick and heavy, the same sensation one would feel if they walked out during a thunderstorm. His white, cloud-like afro had two horns sticking out like some kind of devil. Yet, there was something strangely melancholy about him, like a child lost in a new environment.

The second was a petite woman with spiky pink hair. Her fishnet shirt and stockings made her look more suited for a rave rather than a prison but then with bribes certain privileges were allowed. There was something very strange about her. For some reason, she couldn't keep her eyes off Jolyne and it was starting to annoy her.

"Don't mind them. They don't say much," said the boy. The woman with the pink hair still wouldn't stop staring.

"Wh-what is this place?" Josuke asked, overcoming the initial shock. There were a million questions Jolyne wanted to ask the boy as well, but they had more urgent matters to attend to.

"We don't have time. We're got to get to my cell and get that amulet now!"

"There's a shortcut through here," said the boy as he pointed to a corner of the bookshelf. Jolyne walked over and leaned her head close to the shortcut. Suddenly she could see it. It was a flat, distorted picture, just like the one she saw when she came inside, only this one was a picture of the female quarters.

"So we've just got to exit through here, right?" said Josuke, having already guessed the secret.

"Wait!" exclaimed Jolyne as she scoured the picture for her room. "I have an idea."

She unraveled her hand and shot the strings forward. The strings were invisible to everyone except Guess, who quivered in fear. Although it was faint, Jolyne could still retain her sense of touch through her strings. She could felt the bars, the floor, the table until she finally found the bed. Under her pillow, the amulet was just big enough for her strings to wrap around and drag it. She quickly pulled the amulet across the floor and back to the mysterious room.

Josuke smiled and gave her a thumbs up as the boy sighed. Josuke turned to him.

"Hey, little guy," Josuke said, pulling a sheet of paper from his breast pocket. "Do you know how to get to this hallway?"

The boy looked at the paper map and gave Josuke a few quick shortcuts with his finger but he was trembling.

"That's too far for me to go," the boy said. Josuke nodded. This kid had already saved their lives once today. Asking him to take them all the way down and endanger his life again was insane.

"How far can you take us?"

The boy thought for a minute and he pointed to a location on the map. Josuke smiled.

"That's perfect," he said. The boy smiled back, displaying a flicker of confidence.

"Once we get there, how are we supposed to escape?" asked Jolyne.

"That I've got covered," said Josuke, proudly thrusting his thumb to his chest. "The Speedwagon Foundation lent us a submarine built for two that's hiding in the water nearby. There's a window near there facing the ocean. The water security is low so if we leave now, we've got a pretty good shot of getting out here."

"When did you learn how to drive a submarine?" she asked, skeptical that a Japanese police officer had underwater training.

"It's easier than you think," he said frankly.

The boy, after looking out the initial entrance, indicated that coast was clear and the two followed suit. For a good fifteen minutes, the three managed to avoid the guards and cameras but the further they went in, the more obvious it was that they were nearing a populated area of the prison.

"This is as far as I can take you. Good luck big sis. Big bro."

"Good luck to you to, kid," nodded Josuke.

"Thank you for everything," whispered Jolyne.

The boy gingerly walked away as the two continued forward. They did not see him turn back for a split-second, afraid to leave them alone; there was still something in this prison that was lurking in the shadows. But ultimately the boy was too afraid to pursue.

Jolyne grasped the amulet tightly in her hand. With every breath, every movement, she had to be sure that no one could hear her. In an attempt to cover their tracks, Josuke was fixing all the broken locks to their original form and Jolyne had to keep watch. Suddenly she heard a *_clank*_ from across the room. Her muscles tensed as she prepared to attacked. It was only a fan. She sighed.

"I don't think there are any cameras here. The window should be after this corner. If we can get through it, we'll be close to the shore."

As she said this, Jolyne turned around too quickly. There was a small set of stairs beneath her and she lost her footing. Luckily, Josuke was able to catch her with his stand before she hit the floor.

"Are you crazy? Don't run around blindly!"

"Josuke..." she hesitated. It's true her fall would have made a huge sound and that helping her was a tactical advantage. But she knew that wasn't why Josuke helped her. He loved her. She thought back to her father and wondered how he would have acted if he was here instead of Josuke. He probably would have let her fall...

"Thanks. I don't think I say that often enough."

"S-Sure," he said, scratching the back of his head. "No problem."

There was silence as Jolyne mulled over the nature of the enemy stands.

"Josuke. Call me crazy but I think there are two stands at work here."

"Yeah. Jongalli A's and some sticky acid one..." he paused. Jolyne leaned in to hear the rest of his sentence when suddenly he pushed her down to the floor.

"Hey!"

"Jolyne, get down! Someone's following us."

Gentle footsteps tapped against the ground and echoed in the hall. The noise was steadily getting louder and as she peered her eyes over the steps, Jolyne could recognize the figure of a guard.

"Nothing this way," the guard said causally to another unseen person. Sweat trickled down her face as the guard walked up to the lock.

"You sure?"

The other guard rattled his gun against the lock, proving that it was still sturdy.

"Yeah, the lock looks secure." Jolyne sighed, relieved to know that the enemy hadn't figured out the secret to Josuke's stand. The guards continued their inspection and gradually, the sound of footsteps faded away.

"Let's keep going" Josuke whispered. Jolyne nodded and, not willing to take further chances, the two began to crawl on the floor below eye level.

There was something very sticky on the floor but Jolyne tried to ignore it. It's not like prisions were famous for their clean buildings. But this ooze felt familiar...

Suddenly, she felt something drip on her shoulder. She looked up. Repressing a scream, she saw a white snake monster hang from the ceiling, dripping the clear ooze. She immediately shot string from her fingertips but the creature was too quick and phased through the wall.

"He's there!" she yelled, jumping to her feet. Unfortunately, the snake stand was waiting for her and lunged it hand out to her head. Jolyne barely managed to dodge giving Josuke's stand a chance to crush the snake's hand. The snake stand recoiled in agony and pulled back inside the wall.

In an attempt to stop the snake, Josuke broke a chunk of the wall off. Suddenly voices echoed through the hall. The guards had turned back.

Jolyne and Josuke began to make a break for it as one guards struggled to unlock the bars. They were open. The two guards had spotted them and started closing in on them. One even starting talking on the radio calling for backup. All of a sudden, someone fired a gun. Jolyne turned back to find that one guard dead on the floor.

_What the-?_

The other guard confidently walked through the door and at his side was a familiar paper-like UFO.

Josuke, panting for air, asked, "That stand from the dream is real?"

"Be careful, the snake stand is still here too. It has to be the real mastermind." She put her back up against Josuke's to cover each other and summoned their stands.

The UFO stand flew ahead of the guard, trying to follow their air patterns and catch them. It fired multiple shots but Jolyne and Josuke managed to block its attacks. The stand wasn't nearly as powerful as the illusion had made them believe. They even managed to move closer toward their destination.

Suddenly, the White Snake jumped from the walls. In a sudden swipe, it aimed for Josuke. Thinking fast, Jolyne used the strings in her fingers to pull Josuke back and out of range from the snake. However, this left her open and the UFO stand took advantage. It fired several bullets at her. She tried to summon some strings to make a bullet proof vest again but it was too late. The bullets hit.

"Uncle!"

Josuke staggered against the wall, blood trickling down his shoulder and chest. Jolyne wasn't able to block herself in time but Crazy Diamond could. It managed to punch the UFO stand back, knocking it against a wall. Dazed and uncoordinated, it struggled to get back up. But the bullets went in and now all he could feel was the searing heat of the wounds.

"Uncle!" He heard her shout again. As he struggled to keep his eyes open, he could see that White Snake had disappeared. It probably escaped. Good.

"Don't worry about this," he moaned as she leaned him against her shoulder. "You've got to get out. The hallway is not too far from here."

"Can't you heal yourself?" she asked, trying her best to walk without moving his body too much.

"No. There are limits to what my stand can do." _Limits. _Every stand has limits. No one was immune. He eyed the dead guard. At the rate he was losing blood, he was going to pass out, probably die. "Go Jolyne. You have to g-"

"Like hell I will!" she yelled, interrupting him. "The window is right there. I'm not leaving you behind!"

Suddenly, she heard footsteps and a familiar buzz. A cold sweat trickled down her neck as she place Josuke behind a wall. That UFO stand had regained its composure and this time his stand user was with it too.

"Well, look who I found," Jongalli A smirked as he pointed his gun. "Kujo's daughter. You and your friend put up quite a fight against my Manhattan Transfer but now you're all alone."

Jolyne lowered her head. The man had ever right to be confident; there was no way she could dodge if the gun and bullets flew straight.

He fired his gun.

And missed. He fired again, twice to make sure the hit was clean. Both bullets missed. Kujo took a step forward.

_What the hell!? _He ran his fingers over his gun. Everything seemed normal- wait. There was something in the muzzle.

She glared at him, too pissed to even smirk at her brilliant plan.

"These... these strings! When did they get into the muzzle?" He ripped them off and raised the barrel at her.

"Go to hell!" He pulled the trigger but to his shock the bullet missed again. Now he was starting to panic. What was she doing? Guiding the bullets with her string. He tried to take a step back but something was tying him down. _Those strings! The bitch took advantage of the fact that I can't see and she's been moving me! _

_ "_Damn you-!"

"Shut the hell up!" she yelled, the strings around his legs tightening. "If you don't wanna die, you'll back off!"

Jongalli A's courage was starting to wane.

"I...I understand. I'll drop the gun." He bent over. _She thinks I'm powerless just because I'm blind; she forgot that Manhattan Transfer can tell me directions. _

Suddenly Jolyne's stand punched him the face.

"Who told you to drop the gun? I'm just thinking about what angle I should hit you from and I've decided that you need to turn a little bit more to the left." She pulled the strings around his feet and turned him around. Twenty? Thirty? No, it had to be more. Jolyne's speed was incredible. The hits were almost invisible, but blood was flying.

Josuke smiled. _She's a natural. Even her yells sound familiar. _His eyes turned back to the dead guard. _He isn't too far from here._ _Maybe I can-_

In a flurry of rapid-fire punches, Jolyne pummeling Jongalli A into bloody submission. Her breathing was ragged, but she was proud. He wasn't dead, but there was no way in hell he was going to hunt them down now. With the Snake gone too, nothing was going to stand in her way of escape. She turned back to find her uncle but he was gone, a trail of blood smeared on the floor.

Panic began to overwhelm her senses.

"Uncle!" She ran down the trail. There he was, lying motionless near the guard Jongalli A had killed earlier. She shook his body and kept calling his name but to no avail; he would not wake up.

_Oh no! He's losing too much blood. Even if I drag him all the way to the submarine, will he even survive the whole trip? What do I-_

Suddenly, Jolyne had an idea. She grabbed Josuke and shifted his body weight so that she could support him. The guards surely would have heard the gunfire but they probably have to search this whole area and that boy's secret room wasn't too far from here. If she could just get him in a safe place...

She looked down at the dead man near Josuke and was shocked to see that he looked exactly like her uncle. The nose, the eyes, the mouth- everything on that man's face looked exactly the same. Josuke must have changed this guard's face on purpose. _Just what the hell was he trying to do? Was he-?_

Jolyne summoned Stone Free and started ripping the guard's clothes apart until she found his security pass and his wallet. She hid the items away in Josuke's jacket and carried his limp body away from the hall.

The boy was hiding away in his secret room, reading a book. His companions had already left for the day so he was a little surprised when he heard noise coming near his entrance. Maybe Weather Report left something in the room from earlier. But the visitor was not someone he expected to see at all.

"Big sis!" Her uniform was heavily covered in the blood that leaked out her companion. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you two escape?"

"Kid! I'm sorry! But I can't leave with him like this! He'll die if he doesn't get medical attention now!"

"Okay," the boy said weakly. He surveyed the room for any clean, flat surface.

"Here! Put his head here. I have some medical supplies but there's got to be a way to stop the bleeding."

The boy rushed to the shelf while Jolyne grabbed some disheveled t-shirts on the floor and pressed them against Josuke's wound. The boy was shaking. He had never seen so much blood up close and the idea of forcing a needle into someone's skin made him ill.

"Hey. I'll do it," she said boldly. He was a little hesitant but Jolyne gave him a reassuring smile. In order to cover her gang activities, Jolyne learned how to stitch people up. She had even done it on herself once, when she got into a motorcycle accident. It was either that or have her mom find out.

Jolyne followed as many safety procedures as she could and quickly stitched Josuke up. The boy acted as errand boy, bringing her the stuff she needed and applyinh pressure to the places she instructed. Eventually, it was over. It was a rough job, but it looked like Josuke was going to survive.

Exhausted, Jolyne slumped into a chair. She just wanted to spend the rest of the day in this chair but the boy shook her.

"Go back to your cell, big sis," the boy said, pointing to a closet next to the bookshelf. It was filled with orange prison uniforms. "There were other prisoners with visitors today. If you head back to your cell, the guards will have a hard time pinning the escape on you"

She nodded. Once the guards realized that no one had managed to escape, they were going to interrogate all the prisoners who had visitors today. If she could just keep her cool, the guards might not suspect that she was the person who had tried to escape

_Hopefully, that guard Josuke punched out won't not remember all the details of who was in that room. _

Besides, she needed a new uniform; the blood and sweat were beginning to dry.

She took a uniform that matched her size and began undressing. The little boy, respectfully focused on the visitor's injuries more than on Jolyne, which she found kind of cute. But there were still a few things she needed to sort out.

"Before I go, tell me who you. Tell me everything you know."

Back in the war-torn corridor, Jongali A struggled to keep awake for further orders. His breathing was heavy; that woman managed to break about 5 or 6 ribs. Blood dripped down his mouth and onto his pants. It almost ruined the victory of killing Kujo's ally. He could hear a few rustles in the distance and a familiar white figure approached him.

"It-It wasn't him," he said, spitting the blood out his mouth. "That man with Kujo-"

"I know," replied White Snake, ever composed. "It seems that Jotaro decided to have someone else rescue his daughter. A man with powers we've never seen."

"I shot him though," Jongali A said, a proud warrior displaying his victory. "He's dead"

"Yes." White Snake looked down at the dead man. His hair was disheveled, his clothes torn to shreds, yet the face was clearly Kujo's visitor. "Now Jotaro has to come here himself. You've done well Jongali A."

"Hey...can you.. take me back now? I was too over confident..." White Snake said nothing. He didn't move. He just continued to stare at Jongali A.

Jongali A began to panic and reached for his rifle only to realize that it had vanished from his hands.

"Hey where did my gun go?"

*Bang*

Mercilessly, White Snake fired the gun. The hall was now covered in the remains of Jongali A brain.

"I don't need your help to get Jotaro, Jongali A. I have others to help me. But you're the only one who knows my identity. The dead man... take the blame for this will you?"

Then he disappeared as quickly as had arrived.


End file.
